It will be our secret
by kencrum373
Summary: Explores the relationship between John and Cameron if Cromartie had not shown up when he did in the series.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: "so, did you meet any pretty girls?"**

John was leaving the Red Valley's high school after his first day. He didn't want to be here he wanted to be back in Nebraska with Charlie but his mom had made them leave for reasons that only made sense to her. So here he was, in this nowhere hick town where he stuck out like a sore thumb.

He was walking towards the exit with his eyes downcast lost in his thoughts and trying to draw as little attention as he could to himself when he heard someone call out to him.

"John, wait a minute"

He stopped and turned to see that girl from Mr. Ferguson's class walking toward him. As she reached him he said "Cameron, right?"

"yes." She answered with a small smile. "I was wondering if you might reconsider helping me with the homework for our computer class. I really have no clue what I'm doing. Computers just aren't my thing."

Damn his mom and her paranoia, even if it was justified, John thought. "I can't. My mom, like I said earlier."

"Oh, right… well I guess I'll see you tomorrow then" she replied as her smile collapsed. She walked away.

John felt bad and a little confused. He turned around and walked out the school. On his way home he decided that he would ask his mom if he could stay a little late tomorrow. He figured she would say yes because she would be glad he was making friends.

Sarah turned to look as John came through the front door. "How was your first day here?"

John set his back pack down in its spot next to the door. "It was fine." He said as he made for his room.

Typical teenager, Sarah thought but she wasn't going to let him get away with it, not on the first day. She followed him up to his room. "John, everything alright?"

"I said it was fine mom."

"John just talk to me it was your first day, I want to hear about it."

"I don't really know what to tell you, I went to school. It's pretty much the same everywhere."

"What do you think of Red Valley?" She asked

"This is a hick town, mom."

"We've been in worse places. But what do you mean?"

"Well, my clothes are all wrong. I need, like, some different shirts. You know, here everyone wears boots? Like, cowboy boots. I hate cowboy boots." He said laying back on his bed.

She smiled slightly, "I'll see what I can do. How is the school itself?"

"The teachers are alright but their computers are like, from the frigging '50s or something."

"There're computers? I thought we agreed..." Her smile was replaced with stern and worried look.

"No, no. It... It wasn't my fault they switched my class."

"The last thing I need is you getting caught hacking."

"I'm not hacking, Mom. God, I know the rules. They're, like, written on the inside of my eyeballs, all right?" He said angrily.

Sarah let it go and changed the subject. "Hey. You meet any pretty girls?"

"No, I'm telling you, it's a hick town." He said but couldn't totally suppress a small smile.

"What?" Sarah asked beginning to grin a little. "Come on John you can tell me."

"Well there is this one girl who has been really nice. Her name is Cameron." He looked a little uncomfortable. "and yeah, she is pretty"

Sarah leaned forward and ruffled his hair "I'm glad you had a good day."

John quickly put his hair back the way he liked it. "Mom, don't do that" he complained but he didn't sound too annoyed.

Sarah left the room and went back downstairs to start dinner.

Later after dinner, which turned out to be pizza because his mom had nearly burned the house down trying to make fried chicken, John looked up at his mom. He hesitated a little.

"John what is it?" She asked looking a little concerned.

"Well I was wondering if it would be alright if I was a little late getting home tomorrow." He said.

"Why?" Sarah asked "What are you going to do?"

He blushed "Well. Cameron asked me to help her with her homework for her computer class."

Sarah laughed, "She must be pretty to get you to stay late at school. Just behave yourself. And don't stay too late. I want you home by 5 o'clock." _I'm glad he's found a potential friend already. He's been alone too much the last few years._

John was highly confused by this reaction. He had expected his mom to protest, to tell him not to draw attention to himself. But he was happy about it.

"What? Really? Uh… thanks mom!"

"You're welcome"

"I'm gonna go do my home work and get some sleep." He hurried up the stairs to his room.

"Good night John." Sarah called after him. She received a somewhat muffled reply from upstairs.

Sarah sat back down at the kitchen table thinking about her son. She was glad to see him trying to make friends. It made her nervous too but she didn't want him to be a loner for the rest of his life. She wanted him to be happy it was just hard to break old habits. She tried to remember the last time John had been close to someone. It took her a minute but then she thought of the protector John had sent back for himself the last time Skynet tried to kill him. It bothered her a bit that her sons last best friend and even father figure had been a terminator. It made sense and she had even been sad to see him destroyed. They were wanted by the FBI for several crimes committed during those couple days, that was true but at least they didn't have to worry about Skynet or Terminators any more not since they destroyed Cyberdyne.

John woke the next morning feeling good. He got ready for school taking just a little longer than usual picking his clothes for the day. Realizing he was running a little late he hurried downstairs to get quick bowl of cereal before school.

"You're in a hurry." Sarah said as she entered the room in her waitress uniform.

"I just don't want be late and get a detention or something." He said between spoonfuls.

"Well don't eat too fast. I'd rather you got detention then have you choke to death on your corn flakes" She said teasingly.

"Right like you wouldn't kill me for getting in trouble." He replied in the same tone. He picked up his empty bowl and put it in the sink. "Well, I'm off." He said as he picked up his back pack and opened the door.

"Alright, see you at five." She called after him.

As it turned out John was almost late anyway but Mr. Ferguson was not there yet so he sat down in the only empty seat which was next to Cameron. He had been thinking and had decided that if they might be friends then he should probably tell her the truth about his dad. Well not the whole truth because that just sounded crazy aside from being dangerous to him and his mom.

"Cameron."

"What? Oh hey John" She said looking over at him.

"I lied to you yesterday. My dad doesn't sell insurance. He's dead. He was a soldier. He was killed on a mission." He hadn't meant to just say it like that but he was a little nervous and it just came out.

"I'm sorry."

"It's all right. My mom was pregnant with me when it happened. I never even knew him. So it's all right... My mom, she... she... she's kind of uptight. Actually, no, she's really uptight. She likes me to come home straight after school and hang out with her and that kind of thing, you know? I'm all she's got."

"Thank you for explaining. It'll be our secret." She said smiling at him.

Just then the door opened and Mr. Ferguson walked in. "Alright, everyone settle down." The class slowly fell silent John and Cameron turned to face the front or the room.

While Mr. Ferguson began to take attendance John leaned slightly towards Cameron and whispered "Hey, um, I-"

"Mr. Reese, What did I tell you about not talking during class? Now quiet down." Mr. Ferguson cut him off.

"Sorry Mr. Ferguson." John said quickly blushing a little at being made the center of attention.

"Good. Now let's see. Oh yes, Wayne Parker?"

"I'll tell you later." John whispered to Cameron as Wayne said "Here"

"Cameron Phillips"

"Here"

"Mr. Reese has already made his presence known, so now let's get down to business. It's time for a quiz on last night's reading."

The class let out a collective sigh and began digging for paper and pencils.

At break John went to his locker to put away the books he didn't need and to get the ones he did for his next class. He closed his locker and turned around to find Cameron standing right behind him. John let out a small yelp of surprise and jumped back.

"I'm sorry." She said with a look somewhere between concern and amusement.

"It's ok. Just try not to sneak up on me like that."

"So, what were you trying to say in Mr. Ferguson's class?"

"I was going to ask you if you still want some help with that computer stuff."

"Yeah I would but I thought have to go home right after school."

"Well, I usually do but I asked my mom if I could stay to help you and she said yes." John explained quickly.

"Great, I'll call my parents at lunch to let them know that I'll be late."

They stood there for a moment then the bell rang.

"See ya later." John said as he began to walk towards his next class.

John spent that class, English his least favorite class and the only one he didn't have with Cameron, thinking about her. Well not exactly, he was thinking about spending time with her later and realized that he had no idea what they were going to talk about. Helping with the assignment was great but it wouldn't be much to talk about for over an hour.

By the time lunch came around John had made himself nervous and a little jittery. He got the lunch his mom packed him from his locker and found an empty table in the cafeteria. He was eating his lunch when Cameron seemed to appear out of nowhere in front of him. Much to his surprise he managed not to jump this time.

"Is this seat taken?" She asked indicating the spot across from him.

"No, uh it's all yours."

"Thanks." She sat down. "I just called my parents and they said to take as long as I need."

"That's nice of them, but we'll have to get done quick so I can be home by five."

"Your mom sure likes to keep tabs on where you are and what you're doing doesn't she?" Cameron asked with a half smile.

"Yeah." John sighed.

"We seem to have a lot of classes together." She said changing the subject.

"I noticed that. Kinda weird isn't it?" _I would have arranged that but it turned out I didn't need to. _"Well I should get going." He added quickly and gathered up his things.

"Okay then, see you later."

John glanced back to see her looking slightly crestfallen. He didn't really know what to make of that but he put it out of his mind.

After school John made his way to the computer lab where he found Cameron waiting for him.

"Well, let's get started." John said as he sat down next to her and switched the computer on. While it was booting up he racked his brain for something to say. "It's pretty nice of your parents to let you stay late with such short notice."

"I think they're trying to win me over."

John gave her a puzzled look. "Why would they do that?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you they're not my real parents. They're my foster parents."

"Ok now it makes sense. I know what that's like."

"Were you in foster care?" She asked looking confused.

"Yeah I was." He said quietly. The computer was up now and he turned to it.

"I don't understand. I thought you lived with your mom."

"I do, but I was in foster homes for a few years because…she…sort of had a mental breakdown and was institutionalized." He was bright red. "She's better now though."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's alright, it's just a little embarrassing is all." He paused for a moment. "So, um what happened with your parents?"

"I'd rather not talk about it right now. It's a long story." She said looking a little worried.

"I understand, maybe some other time." He said gently and she gave him a relieved smile.

"Should we get to work?" She asked looking over at the computer.

"Huh..oh, um yeah." He said distractedly.

They worked on the homework project for the next forty minutes or so. John knew what he was doing and Cameron seemed to be a fast learner.

"You seem to be getting the hang of it."_ I hope I haven't done my job too well._

"Yeah but I'm sure I'll need more help. I still don't understand everything."

"Wow! Its quarter to five I've gotta get going." John said after checking the clock. "Here's what we've got so far." He handed her a floppy with the files saved on it. They quickly grabbed their bags and left for the parking lot.

John and Cameron were walking through the parking lot. "I'll see you tomorrow John. Bye" Cameron said as she turned towards her truck.

"Ok bye. Oh by the way I like your truck." He said feeling lame but it was true.

"Thanks." She said smiling. "Where is yours"

"I don't have a car, yet."

"Oh… Would you like a ride home? I don't mind."

John hesitated for a moment. He knew he wasn't supposed to bring people home his mom hated that. It was one of her rules. But he did want a ride. Aside from the fact that he'd have to run the whole way to get home in time, he wasn't in a hurry to get away from her. Just when her smile was faltering at his hesitation he said, "Yeah I'd like that." And climbed in.

Most of the drive was filled with John giving her directions to his place. She drove a little fast but he figured she just didn't want him to get in trouble for being late and she didn't seem to have any trouble controlling the truck anyway.

"There it is." John pointed to the driveway of the house. Cameron pulled in.. "Thanks for the ride." John climbed out of the truck and was about to close the door when he made a spur of the moment decision. "Cameron…"

"What?"

John's pulse shot up out of nervousness. For all his training to be the brave, cool, calm leader of humanity he was sure feeling nervous when it came to girls. "I…I was wondering. Would you like to go out some time?" He could feel the blood flood his face.

She took a moment to respond. He thought he saw an odd blue glint in her eye but was distracted by the sound of the front door crashing open. He saw his mom standing in the doorway.

"John. Dinner is almost ready." Sarah called to him in a voice he knew meant (You're in trouble but I don't want everyone to know)

"Yes." Cameron replied quietly.

John turned back to Cameron, "Great!" He gave her a huge grin. "But we'll have to work out the details later. You should probably go. It looks like I'm about catch it for something."

"Good luck?... Bye" She said as she put the truck in gear and drove off.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Girls are Complicated**

"I…I was wondering. Would you like to go out some time?" She heard John ask.

Immediately her HUD was filled with a flashing message

**CAUTION: SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS REQUIRD**

**ACTION: DELAY ANALYSIS 2 MINUTES.**

The message vanished. Cameron hoped that John hadn't seen the glow in her eyes as the message was displayed. He had turned to his mother at almost the same moment.

She knew John was expecting an answer soon so she gave him the truth. "Yes"

He turned back to her, "Great!" He gave her a huge grin. "But we'll have to work out the details later. You should probably go. It looks like I'm about catch it for something."

"Good luck?... Bye" She said as she put the truck in gear and drove off.

Cameron drove far enough to be out of sight of the Connor house and pulled to the curb. The analysis would begin in 10 seconds. She was scared of what it might tell her she should have done.

The results popped up on her display

**ANALYSIS COMPLETE**

**RECOMMENDED ACTION: DECLINE**

**WARNING!!! ACTION NOT TAKEN**

**REASESSING SITUATION…**

**CANCEL ANALYSIS: SUCCESSFUL**

She didn't need hear the rest. She couldn't do anything about John figuring out what she was. That was unavoidable but she was concerned with how and when he found out. She knew she would have to tell him soon. It was the only way he could trust her.

----------------

John turned away from the street and began to walk to the house. He walked in and his mother met him just inside the front door.

"What was that about?" She demanded angrily "You know not to bring people here."

"Things took longer than expected. Cameron didn't want me to get in trouble for being late, so she offered me a ride." John replied sounding a little annoyed.

Sarah continued to glare at him. "I figured you would rather have me home safe so you could yell at me than be worrying about where I was and being mad at me for being late." John said more gently, "and it would have been weird to turn her down once she offered"

The corner of Sarah's mouth twitched like she was fighting a smile. "I guess you made the right choice then. You were right, turning her down would have stood out as odd." She seemed to be calming down and let him by so he could put his stuff away.

John heard his mom call after him "But please, try not to break all the rules." He could tell by the tone that he was at least mostly forgiven. "I'll try" he said leaning back into the hall so she could hear him.

John decided that tonight might not be the best time to tell his mom about his date with Cameron. Not only would she freak out, which was made more likely by her current mood, but he would be unable to answer the barrage of questions she would throw at him. It was at that point that he realized he had no idea what to suggest to Cameron tomorrow. _I'll have to work on that._ He thought as he walked downstairs for dinner.

John sat on his bed later that night trying to think what to do for his date. He realized he didn't know what there was to do in this town. He considered dinner but the only place he knew of was the diner where his mom worked so he ruled that out. Thinking about what else they could do John remembered seeing a theater on their way into town. He didn't know what was playing but he figured there would be something suitable for a date. Now that he had a plan he tried to relax and fall asleep. It took quite a while.

----------------

John woke the next morning and grimaced as he dressed in his new clothes courtesy of his mom. _They definitely match what everyone else wears around here but they'll sure take some getting used to. _He thought as. Now dressed he headed downstairs for a quick breakfast before heading off to school where he would finalize his plans with Cameron.

----------------

John walked into his first class a little late; the walk to school always seemed to take longer than expected.

"Mr. Reese, how nice of you to join us. Please take your seat." Mr. Ferguson berated as John tried to enter and sit down quietly.

Mr. Ferguson returned to his lecture, "So as you can see, based on…"

Cameron smiled, "Hi John."

John cracked a smile and whispered back "Hey." He paused for a second gathering his courage then continued "I was wondering if, for our da-"

"Mr. Reese, I understand that interrupting my class brings you a great deal of enjoyment, but if you do it again I will have to give you a detention."

John jumped and faced the front of the room blushing. _I really need to stop trying to talk to her in this class._ He thought as he tried to focus on what Mr. Ferguson was writing on the board.

The bell rang and John rose from his seat. He was hoping to have a chance to talk to Cameron before the next class but Mr. Ferguson had other ideas. "Mr. Reese, we need to talk for a minute." John reluctantly turned and headed toward the teacher's desk.

"Sorry about earlier, I wa-" John started to explain

"I don't want your excuses Mr. Reese. I just want to know if we are going to continue to have a problem."

"No sir" John said a little nervously. _Mom would kill me for getting a detention._

"Good, make sure we don't. Otherwise we'll be getting to know each other after school." John stood there for a moment. "You may go now Mr. Reese."

John left and had to hurry to his next class so as to not repeat the process of being late.

------------------

He didn't get a chance to talk to Cameron until lunch. She wasn't there at first but joined him at his usual table soon after.

"Hi" She said sitting down across from him..

"What's up?" said John feeling a slight surge of nervousness knowing she would ask him about their interrupted conversation from earlier. She had already said she would go out with him, but that didn't stop him from feeling nervous.

"Well, I think you wanted to ask me something to do with our plans to go out."

"Yeah, um, I was gonna ask if a movie sounded alright to you." He said fidgeting a little.

"Sure a movie sounds great." She said brightly. "When?"

"I was thinking maybe this Friday." John said feeling relieved.

"Which movie did you want to see?" Cameron asked.

"Uuuh, I don't really know what's playing. Maybe we could just pick one when we get there."

"Ok. I think the showings are at 6:15 or 8:20." She looked at him questioningly.

"We should go to the earlier one. There's no way my mom would let me stay out late enough for the 8:20 one." John replied with a bit of a grin. "Let's meet at the theater at around six so we can pick a movie."

"I'll see you there." Cameron said as the bell rang signaling the end of Lunch. John headed for his locker in an unusually good mood.

--------------

Wednesday and Thursday passed quickly for John but Friday seemed to make up for it. John sat in his last class watching the clock. When the bell finally rang he moved quickly to the door.

"See you later John." Cameron said with a shy smile.

John just smiled back at her.

------------------

John entered through the front door. "Mom, I'm home." Sarah would be home, she had been switched to the morning shift at the diner.

"John, you seem cheerful today." She said walking out from the kitchen.

"Do I?" He asked. "I actually need to ask you something."

"What's that?" Sarah asked looking a little cautious.

"Well, a couple of people from school are going to see a movie today and I got invited at the last minute. I was wondering if I could go."

"You're making friends?" Sarah sounded a little surprised. _I haven't seen him spend time with people since he lost Uncle Bob. _

"Yeah… I guess so." John replied.

"How late will you be out?"

"8:30, 9 O'clock at the latest. We're going to the earlier showings. So… can I go?" John answered hopefully.

Sarah thought for a minute. "Alright, you can go this time but I'd prefer it if you don't spring things on me at the last minute." _I hope you have fun._

"Thanks mom." He gave her a quick hug. "Could you drop me off at the theater at six?"

"Alright."

----------------------

John waved to his mom as she pulled away from the curb in front of the theater. Walking into the lobby he could see that Cameron wasn't there yet, so he looked at what was playing to pick out the one he thought would be best. It was a small theater and only had three movies playing. He looked at the list next to the box office.

Stigmata  
White Boys  
American Beauty

_Great I haven't heard of any of them. I need to get out more. _John thought for a few seconds. _Well American Beauty sounds like my best bet. Stigmata sounds depressing and I have no clue what White Boys could be about._

Cameron walked in and, seeing him, smiled, "HI John. What movie are we going to see?"

"I was thinking American Beauty. But, truthfully, I haven't heard of any of them, have you?" John said with a shrug.

"No, I haven't. American Beauty is fine with me."

They approached the box office. "How can I help you?"

"Two for American Beauty please." John said.

"That'll be $11.50" the cashier stated as he rang it up and got their tickets.

John handed him a twenty and took the tickets, handing one to Cameron.

"You're in theater one. Enjoy the movie." The cashier said handing John his change.

-----------------

John and Cameron sat together toward the back of the room. As the lights dimmed and the trailers started John realized he forgot something important. "Cameron…did you want popcorn or a drink or something?" He asked in a low voice.

"No, that's okay. I don't need anything. Thank you though." Cameron whispered back.

"Well let me know if you change your mind."

They fell silent as the movie started. It didn't take long for John to realize that the movie was not what he had expected.

As the movie went on there were several moments that were rather awkward for John. He hoped it didn't show too much. A few times he glanced at Cameron to see if she was enjoying herself at all. She noticed him once and gave him a quick half smile before turning back to the movie.

Near the end of the movie he glanced at her once again and saw her eyes glowing with interest. He looked away before it registered. _Wait a minute …glowing? _He looked back but her face looked completely normal, the glow must have been a reflection off the screen.

------------------

As they walked out of the theater Cameron pointed down the street "I'm parked over there." They began walking slowly in that direction.

As they walked John asked, "Did you like the movie?" _Please tell me I didn't blow it._

"It wasn't what I expected but at least it was interesting." She said tilting her head a little to the side. "I am having a good time though."

John hoped she couldn't see how relieved he was. He could see her truck about a block ahead of them. He decided to take a chance and reached out gently taking her left hand in his right. She looked over at him and gave him a warm smile that made his heart feel like it might float away.

When they got to the truck John somewhat reluctantly let go of her hand as they climbed in. Cameron grabbed the keys from above the visor. As she put the key in the ignition they turned toward each other. "Hey, would you like to get an ice cream?" She asked

"Yeah, that's a great idea!" John said happy for an excuse to spend more time with her.

-----------------------

They walked into a small ice cream shop a few blocks from the theater. The girl behind the counter smiled at them, "Hello, just let me know when you're ready."

"What would you like?" John asked.

"Oh, I don't know…maybe we could share something." Cameron suggested.

_What does that mean? Am I supposed to guess what would be good or does she want to share because she likes me or does she just not want me to spend more money on her? Ugh, Girls are so complicated, why can't they just tell you what they mean? _"Um, how about the classic sundae?" He said picking a traditional sounding item from the menu on the wall.

Cameron quickly read the description, "Ok, but no nuts if you don't mind. I don't like them."

"Ok no nuts it is." John said and approached the counter.

"What can I get ya." asked the girl.

"Could we get a classic sundae without nuts please?"

"Sure thing. Would you like anything else?" She asked smiling.

"No, that's all." John confirmed.

"It'll be up in just a minute." She said as she started building the sundae. It took only about a minute "It's all ready for ya."

"Thanks." John said as he paid for it.

They sat down next to each other at a small table off to the side. They ate the ice cream in silence for a few seconds. Then Cameron asked "So, where did you move here from?"

"We were living in Nebraska. How about you, did you grow up around here somewhere?"

"No…I'm originally from California, near Los Angeles." She said.

"Is that where your real parents live?" John saw her flinch a little and remembered too late that that was a sensitive topic. _I am SO stupid! _John thought. "I'm sorry Cameron…I didn't mean to upset you." He amended quickly.

"It's ok. I know you didn't mean to, but let's talk about something else." She said still sounding a little subdued.

John picked the first thing that came to his mind, which was the movie. It was a little awkward for him but they talked about it for a while. As they talked they shared the ice cream. As they were leaving John again reached for her hand and she gave it to him willingly with another one of those smiles.

-------------------

Cameron pulled the truck into John's driveway. They sat in the car for a moment. "I really enjoyed myself tonight" John said quietly.

"As did I."

"So, I take it you wouldn't be opposed to going out again." _Hopefully soon. _John said feeling a little nervous again.

"No, I wouldn't mind spending more time with you John." She stated looking into his eyes.

They stayed like that for a few seconds but then light spilled across them from the open front door, breaking the moment. They turned to see Sarah silhouetted in the doorway. "Well, I should probably head in." John stated resignedly. "See you Monday."

She smiled at him "Good night John."

"Good night Cameron" He said reaching for the door handle. He wanted to hug her but wasn't sure if that was too much and it would just be weird with his mom watching. So he settled for giving her a smile while he slid out of the passenger seat.

Cameron put the truck in gear and drove off.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: You lied to me**

Sarah sat at the kitchen table waiting for John to get home. It was almost 9:00 and he should be back any minute. As she waited she worried, _What if something happens to him and I'm not around to protect him._ Then another part of her spoke up. _He's just at a movie. Let him make some friends. _ She heard a car pull into the drive way and stop. _He really needs to stop bringing people here. _She thought but she had to admit she had expected this and wasn't too thrilled with the idea of him walking across town at night. When she hadn't heard anything from outside for several minutes she got up, heading to the door to see what was going on. She opened the door to see John sitting in the passenger seat of a familiar pickup truck exchanging a long glance with a pretty girl. They jumped slightly as they notice her. John looked over at Sarah then turned back and said something then slowly slid from the truck and walk towards her. "Was that Cameron again?"

"Uh, yeah it was." John replied as he walked into the house.

"She seems to be driving you home a lot." Sarah gave him a knowing look. "Does she live out this way?"

"I have no idea. I never thought to ask."

"How was the movie?"

"It was alright. Not quite what I was expecting it to be, but I had a good time anyway."

"Glad you enjoyed yourself." Smiling a little then yawning. "I'm exhausted. Good night John." She gave him a quick hug and headed to her room.

"Night mom." John said as he headed for his.

-------------

The weekend seemed to fly by for John in his preoccupation. He couldn't seem to keep his mind in one place for long. It kept drifting back to his date with Cameron, which made him smile to himself. He also spent some time trying to figure out what Cameron and he were to each other. This was difficult as he had no dating experience so he gave up on that task and decided to just go with it. Sunday evening John sat at the kitchen table doing some math homework he had put off till the last minute. Sarah was packing his lunch for the next day. He glanced up from the page in front of him to see her putting in half a dozen of the walnut chocolate chip cookies from the dinner.

"Um, Mom there's no way I'll be able to eat all of those. You know that right?"

"Maybe you could share with Cameron" she said giving him a teasing smile.

"That's really nice of you, mom," John felt slightly surprised "but she doesn't like nuts. Well at least she didn't want any on the Sunday we got after we saw the movie." John realized his mistake almost the moment the words were out of his mouth, a look of guilt crossing his face.

"You lied to me!" Sarah sounded both angry and disbelieving. "You told me you were going with a group from school but you had it planned all along."

"I thought you…" John started to try to explain.

"That I what!? Wouldn't find out!"

"No, that you wouldn't let me." John replied looking down at the table unable to meet his mother's eyes.

_my son thinks I wouldn't let him go on a date. I can't believe he would think that._ Her temper cooled a little as she replied "Of course I would have." _That's something I never thought I would get to see. _"I'm not upset about you going with her. It's that you lied to me."

"I'm sorry mom."

"Don't think you'll get off that easy you're still grounded... for a week." John looked resigned but he knew he deserved it. "Now finish that homework and get to bed."

---------------

John arrived at Mr. Ferguson's class about a minute before the bell rang. He was a little out of breath since he had been forced to run to school after getting a late start. _phew, well I'm tired but at least I won't have to explain to my mom that I got a detention. _He dropped his bag next to his desk and slumped into his usual seat.

"Hi" he heard Cameron say. As he looked over at her brushing the hair out of his face she asked "Did you run here or something?"

"Yeah most of the way."

The bell rang and Mr. Ferguson entered the room. While they were getting their things out for class Cameron whispered, "I have an idea for something we can do together." before she could elaborate Mr. Ferguson called the class to order.

------------------

John sat at their table in the school cafeteria. He was somewhat nervously waiting for Cameron. He wanted to see her but he wasn't looking forward to explaining that he was grounded and would have to turn her down. His teachers had been kind enough to keep them busy during the morning classes, delaying the inevitable, but also giving John way too much time to think. _There are two problems. First of all my being grounded is going to ruin her plan, whatever it is, so she'll be disappointed. Secondly I got grounded for lying about going out with her which could either make her think my mom hates her or that I'm embarrassed by her. _

"Hey," Cameron said as she slid into the seat next to him. John jumped in surprise. He had been to lost in thought to hear her approach."John are you ok?"

"Yeah, you just startled me." He sighed "well that and I'm grounded this week. I hope that doesn't ruin your plan."

"No, it's fine, but why are you grounded?"

John blushed and looked at the table. He took a deep breath, "I lied to my mom about our date. I told her I was going to the movies with a group of people. She found out and now I'm grounded."

"I see." Johns heart sank for a moment but then she smiled. "Maybe next time you should tell her. That might be more effective."

John managed a smile in return "Yeah, I figured I'd try that."

---------------------------

After lunch was computers. John was day dreaming as the teacher lectured on the new unit, which was a program he already knew how to use. He only came back to reality when the teacher began to explain the project that went with the unit. "You will be working in groups by row." He paused and looked at the room. John saw him look at him and Cameron who were sitting in the back row, which was actually only two seats because of the way the tables were set up. "You two can be your own group or join with two of the others."

John glanced over at Cameron, who nodded. "We'll be fine on our own Mr. Watson."

"Ok now that you've got your groups, here is what I want to see in your finished project." He went on to lay out a fairly large, and for everyone else, complicated assignment. _This isn't so bad. _John thought. He normally hated projects like this but it did mean he would get to spend some time with Cameron this week in spite of being grounded. He carefully put the handout with the assignment information in his bag to show his mom, just in case she needed proof. Grinning he turned to Cameron as they were getting ready to leave "Looks like I'll get to spend some time with you after all. Mr. Watson has great timing." Cameron smiled slightly as they left the room.

---------------------------------

Sarah came home to find John just finishing his geometry homework. "Getting it done earlier this time I see." She didn't wait for a response "How was school?"

"School was fine. and yeah I started on homework early." He gave her a gently teasing smile "I was hoping you might cut me some slack for good behavior."

Sarah laughed a little "Nice try, it's only the first day. You seem pretty cheerful again. You have a good day."

"Actually it was pretty uneventful but I will need to stay after school for the next few days."

"Why?"

"I have to work with Cameron on the project Mr. Watson assigned today."

"I see... well, in that case you can. Just don't enjoy it too much." She teased

"I'll try," He grinned back "but you know how much I love school projects."

-----------------------------------

John woke up early on Tuesday. He dressed and went down stairs to get some breakfast. His mom was already gone for work as usual. He finished his cereal and put the bowl in the dish washer. He was just about to leave when he looked at the clock and saw he still had fifteen minutes before he needed to leave. He sat on the couch feeling surprisingly impatient. Five minutes later he decided being early might not be such a bad thing, thoughts of Cameron crossing his mind. He had just locked the door when an engine started up in the driveway. He whirled around to see Cameron smiling and waving to him from her truck. John walked over. "What are you doing here?" He asked in confusion.

"Giving you a ride to school."

"Oh, alright then, thanks." He walked around and climbed into the passenger seat, feeling a smile forming on his lips. Buckling his seatbelt, he looked over at her "How long were you waiting for me. I didn't hear you pull up."

"Not long." She lied knowing that the truth, which was since his mother left, would not be a good response. Cameron backed the truck out of the driveway and turned on to the street. A short time later they pulled into the school parking lot which was nearly empty as they were a good twenty minutes early. John released his belt and was about to get out but stopped realizing there was no need to rush off. He relaxed back into his seat. Cameron left the engine running so they could have the radio on while they waited for school to start. After a few minutes Cameron reached over and gently took hold of John's hand. He looked over and smiled. They sat like that listening to the radio and talking a little. The bell rang, signaling the end of their moment and the return of reality.

-----------------------

Cameron scanned the cafeteria looking for John. He wasn't at his usual table and she didn't see him anywhere in the room. She waited thinking he must just be late for some reason but when he hadn't shown up after ten minutes she became concerned and began to search for him. She went to his locker and opened it his lunch was still there, he hadn't been here since before his last class. She checked there next but the room was dark and empty. Cameron eventually found him in the computer lab. "There you are. I've been looking all over for you. Why weren't you at lunch?" She said feeling relieved that he was alright.

John turned in his chair with a guilty look on his face "I'm sorry, I've been in here working on our project. I actually just finished it... I hope you don't mind." He said a little shamefacedly.

"No, that's fine. I probably wouldn't have been much help." Cameron said but then her face fell slightly "but I thought we were going to work on it after school."

John realizing that it seemed like he didn't want to hang out with her said "Yeah, but now we can do whatever we want instead. My mom isn't expecting me home for a few hours after school." He gave her a sly smile.

Cameron's expression brightened "Okay, but let's make sure your mom doesn't find out this time or you're really going to be in for it."

------------------------------

"So what do you want to do?" Cameron asked while John was getting his books out of his locker.

John thought for a moment. "Well, I did miss lunch"

"There's a pizza parlor down the street"

"Sure, that sounds good."

------------

John finished his third slice of pizza and took a drink of his soda. It was then that he noticed that Cameron had only eaten about half a slice and had hardly touched her drink. "Is everything alright?" He asked feeling a little worried gesturing at her plate.

"I'm fine, I'm just not that hungry that's all."

John looked around for a moment. This was one of those old time pizza parlors that had a few arcade games in the corner and, to his surprise, even had a pool table. "How about a game?" He gestured at the pool table.

"Sure I'll play you John." She said getting up.

They crossed the room picking up a pair of cues from the rack on the wall. John racked the balls and set the cue ball in place. "You break." He said stepping back to give her some room.

"Okay." She said brightly as the corner of her mouth curved up into a half smile. She leaned over the table and prepared to make her shot. She had just finished calculating the perfect shot and was about to take it when her HUD displayed a message.

**CAUTION: MODIFY ACTIONS TO MEET INFILTRATION PROTICOLS**

**RECOMENDED ACTION: ALTER TRAJECTORY OF SHOTS TO SIMULATE LOWER SKILL LEVEL**

Cameron blinked the message away quickly and altered her shot. Only two balls went into the pockets. "Nice one Cam." She looked at him with her head tilted to the side. "Um... you don't like the nick name?" He asked nervously.

"It's not fair."

"What do you mean?"

"'John' is already short, I can't give you a nickname"

"I can stick with Cameron if you like."

"No, I just said it wasn't fair, not that I didn't like it." She grinned at him and took her second shot missing by a little. "Cam is acceptable. Oh and it's your shot."

"Cam it is then." He said smiling as he made a nice neat shot that sank the seven ball in the far corner pocket. They played two games Cameron won the first one and John the second. Cameron had tweaked her calculations so that she missed a little more than half the time. After the second game it was time to go.

-------------------

Cameron turned into the driveway and parked next to Sarah's car. "I'll see you tomorrow Cam." John sad as he unbuckled his seat belt.

"Will we be working on Mr. Watson's assignment again tomorrow." She asked giving him a wink.

"Yeah I told my mom it would take longer than one day." With that John slid out of the truck and turned towards her "bye"

"bye" John closed the door and Cameron put the truck in gear and drove away.

-------------------------

Sarah was in the living room watching TV when John walked in. "Hi mom." He called as he dropped his back pack by the door.

"Hey. How's that project going. Not too rough I hope." She patted the seat next to her. "Sit down we need to talk for a minute." John felt like he had just swallowed a block of ice but he managed to keep it from showing too much as he sat. "It seems like you and Cameron are getting pretty close."

"Why do you say that?" John felt relieved. This was embarrassing but not as bad as what he expected.

"I saw how you two were looking at each other the other night." She said giving him a knowing look. "What I want to know is... when do I get to meet her?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: It was a bad day**

It was Friday evening. The sun was low in the sky as Cameron pulled in the Connor's driveway. _'I am about to meet Sarah Connor' _Cameron thought as she got out of the truck. As she walked she thought about what future John had told her about his mother. He had told her a lot but she remembered what he had said before sending her back. "She is probably going to hate you, but try to get on her good side." _'How do I do that'_ she wondered as she approached the door.

--------------------

John and Sarah were in the living room waiting for Cameron to arrive. Both were silent, lost in their thoughts. John for his part was trying not to let his nervousness show. _'This is going to be interesting. I've never brought a girl home to meet mom before.'_ He thought cringing inwardly at the thought of how his mom might act. He hoped she wouldn't try to scare her off. Sarah noticed her son's nervousness but didn't know what to do to help him relax. She was feeling uneasy as she always did when it came to new people but part of her was actually a little excited. _'I really never expected to get to do normal parent stuff like this.' _She realized she had just assumed her and John would always be moving around too much. _'I really need to let him have a normal life now. No more running unless there is actually something to run from.' _She promised silently to herself and John. Just then the door bell rang. John jumped up and started for the door. He stopped as he passed his mom and leaned down and said "Please don't embarrass me"

She fought not to laugh and with as straight a face as she could manage replied "I thought that's what I was supposed to do." She smiled at the look he gave her then added "but if you insist. I'll do my best." She nudged him towards the door.

John opened the door and Cameron seeing it was him smiled "Hi John"

"Hi Cam, come in" He reached out and took her hand as she walked in. The contact made him a little less nervous and he hoped it did the same to her. "Come on, my mom's in the living room." He said quietly.

Sarah had retreated to the kitchen both to check that the dinner she brought from the diner was warm and to give them a little time to say hello without her looming in the background. Finding everything fine in the oven she headed back in to the living room. Sarah smiled at them as they walked in holding hands. _'They look cute together' _John stepped forward and introduced Cameron "Mom, this is Cameron."

Cameron, smiling shyly, held out her free right hand "It's very nice to meet you Mrs. Reese."

Sarah shook hands noticing that Cameron had a firm confident grip despite her obvious shyness. _'I think I like her.' _"It's nice to meet you to but just call me Sarah." She smiled. Just then a beep could be heard from the oven. "Dinner is ready." Sarah turned and made her way back into the kitchen.

Cameron looked over at John "That went better than I expected."

He gave her a relieved grin "Yeah, I thought she might still be annoyed about the whole me lying thing."

Cameron's lips curved into a half smile. "Let's see if your mom wants any help." She led John into the kitchen where Sarah was just getting out silverware out of a drawer. "Sarah, I could set the table if you like." Cameron volunteered.

"Thanks that would be great." She handed Cameron the silverware and looked at John "Could you get the plates?" In a few minutes the table was set and dinner was served.

Conversation was almost nonexistent at first as everyone was enjoying their meal. Eventually Sarah casually asked "You two met in computers right?"

John responded "No actually we met in Chem. but we didn't get much past hello before Mr. Ferguson told us to shut up."

Sarah snickered a little "You probably deserved it John, but you have been working together a lot for that class right?"

"Actually John has been doing most of it." Sarah's face hardened as she looked at her son. Cameron quickly amended,"I'm really bad with computers. They scare the heck out of me."

Sarah smiled _'Good girl' _"Well it's a good thing you have John working with you then. He's great with computers. But he spends too much time with them." She smirked at John "maybe he'll spend some of it with you instead." John's face turned red and he gave his mother foot a nudge under the table hoping to convey that she was doing exactly what he asked her not to. _'Hey, at least I didn't break out the baby pictures'_

Cameron giggled and smiling at both Sarah and John replied "We'll see."

John decided at this point that he would escape further embarrassment by excusing himself to the bath room. After John was out of hearing Cameron spoke again "Sarah… I know John is still grounded, but, I was wondering if I could take him to the chili festival in the next town on Sunday? I thought I'd ask you before I mentioned it to him."

"Chili festival?"

"Yes, I haven't been before but I've heard it is a lot of fun."

Sarah thought for a few seconds "Sure, why not. I've got a double shift on Sunday anyway." A moment later John returned. "You've got a reprieve. As of Sunday morning you are no longer grounded and you get to spend the day with Cameron."

John looked confused _'is mom feeling okay' _but he smiled as he turned to Cameron "Great, what are we doing?"

"I'm taking you to the chili festival. If you want to go that is." Cameron looked at him hopefully.

"Yeah that sounds like fun." John beamed at her. He had always enjoyed festivals like that when he was a kid, at least, when he got a chance to attend them.

---------------------------

A short time after dinner Cameron had to go home. Sarah and Cameron exchanged friendly goodbyes. "You're welcome here any time." Sarah told Cameron smiling at her.

"Thank you." Cameron replied happily her face lighting up as she smiled back. As Cameron walked toward the door John just sat at the table with a slightly dazed expression _'ok… who is this woman and what did she do with my mother.' _He blinked a few times then realized his mom was giving him an odd look. He heard the front door close.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to go say good night?"

"Oh…" John hurried out the door. Cameron turned around as he stumbled down the porch steps. It wasn't until he was standing in front of her that he realized he had no clue what to do or say. He struggled for a moment trying to think. Then Cameron smiled.

"That went better than expected."

John laughed "Yeah, I wasn't expecting her to take to you like that."

"I know. I wasn't either." She paused for a second her smile faded but then returned "Well I'll see you Sunday."

The corner of his mouth pulled up into his crooked half smile "Definitely." They stood there for a few moments. John became aware that he was in a very similar situation to the one last Friday. _'Great! I still don't know what to do.' _Giving up, he was about to do nothing once again but he felt that was a bad idea. Instead he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. Cameron returned the embrace holding him gently but firmly. _'This is nice' _John thought, he had been worried that this would be one of those awkward hugs. John almost sighed as he said "Good night Cam."

"Good night, John."They slowly let go of each other and Cameron opened her door and slid into her seat. She gave John another beautiful smile before she drove away.

---------------------------------

They arrived at the festival at about 11:00 on Sunday morning. They parked on the street a few blocks from the festival and walked in. John looked around taking in everything. _'I knew this was a chili festival but wow' _He thought as he saw everything was decorated with strings of little red peppers. Once he got over that he saw some little stalls that looked to be local crafts. _'Maybe I can get her something.' _John pointed in the direction and asked, "Shall we take a look?"

Cameron glanced in the direction he was pointing and a small smile appeared on her lips "Yeah, let's go."

John took her hand, leading the way over to the first booth. It turned out to have a selection of salsa and hot sauce made from local peppers. John wasn't particularly interested and as far as he could tell Cameron wasn't either so they moved on. They wandered through the stalls for a while. It was a collection of chili related and chili themed crafts as well as a few stalls that had the generic crafts found at all street fairs. After over an hour without any luck John's patience for shopping was exhausted and he was getting hungry. "Hey Cam, do you want to get something to eat?"He said as his stomach growled.

"Okay, I think the food court is this way."

--------

John read the signs above the various food venders. One stand had chilidogs and another chiliburgers , a third chili fries, and one just said chili. "I hope you feel like chili. It looks like our choices are chili or chili on something." He said grinning at Cameron.

Cameron looked around "Or gyros." She pointed to a small booth off to one side which John had overlooked. "But I'll have chili since we are at the chili festival."

"Good point, chili it is then."

They walked over to one of the stands that offered bowls of chili. "What can I get you two today?" The man with a chef's hat behind the counter asked in a friendly way.

"We'd like two bowls of chili and…" he turned to Cameron "What do you want to drink?"

"I'll have a coke."

"And two cokes." John finished.

"Alright that'll be $10 even..." John handed him a twenty. As the man was getting the change he asked "You guys having fun at the festival today?"

"Yeah it's a lot of fun. I really like festivals like this." John reached out and received his change.

"Your food will be right up." He disappeared into the back.

"Is this the world's spiciest chili?" Cameron asked. John gave her a very confused look. So she pointed to a small sign on the counter that read **World's spiciest chili.**

John laughed "Nah, they all say things like that just to lure you in. It will be fine."

The man returned with their food. "Here you go, enjoy."

"Thanks." John said politely and they made their way over to a table and sat next to each other on the bench. Cameron tried a bite of the chili and a warning appeared on her HUD

**WARNING INFILTRATION FAILURE IMINENT**

**RECOMMENDED ACTION SHOW SIGNS OF DISCOMFORT FROM SPICY FOOD**

Cameron decided to ignore this and scooped up another bite with her spoon. She looked over at John. He had just taken a bite and his face quickly turned red and he began to sweat. "John, are you alright? You are perspiring."

'_Come on John quit being such a pansy.' _He told himself "Yeah, I'm fine." John tried not to gasp while talking. Cameron turned back to her food and started eating again. _'How is she doing that?' _He wondered as he started chugging his soda trying to put out the fire.

----------

After lunch they wandered around for a while. Eventually John spotted an area that had several carnival type games. He smiled at Cameron and led the way over to the games. He approached one of the counters and was greeted by the middle aged man working the booth. "Hey son, you want to give it a try?" The man saw Cameron and lowered his voice conspiratorially. "Maybe win a pretty fish for the pretty girl."

John quickly looked over the fish that were available as prizes and was pleasantly surprised to see that there actually were a few decent ones. "Alright, how much?"

"Three shots for two dollars." John handed him the bills. "Now just aim for the bowl with the fish you want. You make it you win. Oh and I'll make a deal just for you, if you make all three you can have the bowl to." John took aim with his first shot and tossed the little ball. It hit the front of the bowl he was aiming for. _'Well I can still get the fish.' _John's second shot sailed over the top and landed on the ground behind the table. John aimed again and tossed the final ball. It struck the rim and bounced away. "Bad luck son." The man stated.

"Can I try?" Cameron asked brightly. She stepped up to the counter and paid for three more shots. John stepped aside to watch. Cameron quickly made her tosses and they all landed neatly in the bowl John had been trying for.

"You have great aim miss." The man smiled as he handed her the bowl. "Here you go. You guys have a nice day."

"You too." John replied and they walked away. He stopped and looked at her "Is there anything you're not good at?"

Cameron smiled "I can't swim." She handed John the bowl" Here, I won this for you."

"No you keep it." He held it out. Seeing a puzzled look on her face he added. "I was trying to get it for you anyway."

"Oh, thank you, that's sweet." She took the bowl back.

"Hey Cam I'll be back."

"Where are you going?" His response was to point in the direction of the restrooms. When he was gone Cameron held up the bowl and looked at the fish. "What am I going to do with you?"

---------------

The ride back from the festival seemed too short to John. "I don't have to be home for a few hours, my mom won't be home until then anyway." He paused for a moment before continuing "Do you want to go somewhere and talk or something." _'I hope this goes better than my last couple ideas' _He felt his stomach flutter a little with nervousness.

Cameron tilted her head slightly to the side as she looked at him. "Sure, I know a great place."

----------

Cameron had driven them to a fairly secluded area which was actually only about a mile from John's house. It was a pretty setting especially with the sun about to set behind the hills. "Wow this is a great place." John said as he looked out his window

"Thanks"

John turned back to see Cameron smiling at him. He had planned on saying something but the sight of her face illuminated by the golden sunlight made him forget what it was. Time seemed to slow down for him as he leaned in to kiss her. Just before their lips met he felt her put a hand on his chest stopping him. He saw a pained and conflicted look on her face. "Cam, I'm sorry. I... I thought you wanted to…" the concern evident in his voice. _'Did I do something wrong?' _She didn't respond for a moment and his heart sank.

"Of course I want to, but I can't. It wouldn't be right. There is something I have to tell you first." She looked scared and her voice trembled a little.

John wanting to comfort her scooted closer and put his arm around her shoulders. "You can tell me." His voice was reassuring. _'It can't be any worse than what I'm keeping secret.' _

------

Cameron closed her eyes and her HUD came up. She didn't want to lie to John so she eliminated those options.

**POSSIBLE RESPONSES**

**REVEAL FULL REASON FOR BEING SENT BACK (advised against by John Connor)**

**I AM A TERMINATOR YOU SENT BACK IN TIME TO PROTECT YOURSELF.**

She opened her eyes and looked into his green ones and told him. "I'm a terminator you sent back in time to protect yourself."

John sat for several seconds not moving. His mouth opened and he spoke in a surprisingly calm voice "Oh, well that sucks." And fell silent again. Cameron checked his vitals. His heart rate was rapid and his perspiration and adrenaline levels had shot up. "So… you didn't need my help with computers." John sounded dazed and his expression was a combination of shock and confusion mixed with several other emotions she couldn't quite read. "Wait, I sent you back… to protect me."

"Yes, that is right."

"From anything in particular?...Never mind, don't tell me. How long have you been looking for me?"

"73 days." Cameron was impressed at how well he was taking the news.

"What did you do all that time?"

"I—" Cameron began but suddenly John's face paled and he looked as if he had been burned.

"I can't deal with this" He whispered throwing open his door and sliding to the ground. Cameron watched him go until he turned a corner and she couldn't see him anymore. He hadn't looked back. She turned away tears forming in her eyes.

*****************

Author's note: I'm very sorry for the long delay. I was busy studying then taking the MCAT, so I wasn't having fun either. You can see why I waited to post this chapter until I had time to write again. I can only imagine how mad you would all be if I left you with this for a month.

Please read and review.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's note: Please forgive me. I promised you a new chapter a long time ago. I can tell you that I have begun work on the next chapter. I started it before I posted this one. I annoyed my fiancé/beta enough that she has threatened me with bodily harm if I don't pick up the pace, so don't worry. Also this chapter has some future scenes. Let me know what you think. Reviews are always welcome.

**Chapter 5: I'll make pancakes.**

John walked up the driveway in the twilight that had quickly followed the sunset. He noticed with some relief that it was still deserted. _'I don't think I could have handled my mom right now.' _He let himself in. John headed straight for his room. Putting on his headphones he started his CD player and started to think about what had just happened.

'_Damn it, we didn't stop it after all and she's… one of them. It's a good thing she wasn't here to kill me. I wouldn't have known what was going on until she took my head off or something.' _He chuckled darkly at that thought. _'Well she's here to protect me so that means there's another one after me. So what do I do? Do I tell my mom?_

'_No mom would just freak out and make us move which would draw attention and make it easier to find us. Besides it would be hard to explain Cameron disappearing to follow us, like she certainly would.' _With that last thought his mind went back to Cameron.

'_Why didn't she follow me here? That doesn't make sense.'_

'_Maybe she did and I was just too distracted to notice. If she didn't… well I sure don't know why, it is her job to protect me after all'_

As he considered Cameron's reasoning a stray memory of their date came to his mind. When it did a pained look formed on his face. The memory started a chain reaction in which he reexamined every interaction between them based on what he knew now. _'She didn't actually want to spend time with me. She can't want anything she just had to be near me.' _With that and other similar thoughts John fell into a restless sleep.

---------------

Sarah arrived home about an hour after John. She was exhausted after her double shift. She was headed to her room to get some much needed sleep but saw that the light was still on in John's room. She decided first to say goodnight and to let him know she was back. Opening the door she saw that he was asleep on top of the covers. She watched him for a minute then turned the light out and quietly closed the door. _'I'll talk to him tomorrow.' _She yawned entering her room.

---------------

The next morning John jerked awake from a nightmare. In his dream he had come back from the festival with Cameron and while they were parked watching the sunset she had told him she was a terminator. _Phew, it was only a dream. But, Jeez, what a nightmare, where did that come from?' _He looked at his clock to see that it was not Sunday as he had believed but was in fact Monday. _'Oh shit… not a dream.' _His heart sank as he realized that the nightmare had been a repeat of the actual day.

With a groan John ran his hands through his hair and dragged himself out of bed. He dressed halfheartedly and walked downstairs. He planned to walk to school so he left a little earlier than usual.

---------------

Cameron waited out front of the school building. She saw John approaching from the street. He was walking quickly looking at nothing in particular. When he was close Cameron smiled hesitantly and said "Hi, John."John walked past into the hallway without even glancing at her or giving any other sign he even knew she existed. Cameron stood there in surprise for a moment. _'Maybe he didn't hear me.'_

Cameron entered their chemistry class a few minutes later to find John sitting not in his usual seat next to hers but instead a few rows further forward surrounded by other students. She quietly sat down with a slightly downcast expression on her face which went unnoticed by anyone.

-----

Cameron once again attempted to speak with John during the morning break. "John," She said stepping in front of him.

He bumped into her but simply grunted "sorry." without looking to see who he had hit. Cameron turned to follow him and get his attention. She stopped as he quickly turned into the restroom. _'I don't understand. I thought he might be angry but this is not how he acts when angry.' _She activated her HUD and began an analysis based on the situation and her files on human behavior. In a few seconds she found what she was looking for.

**SUBJECT IS LIKELY CONFUSED, ANGRY, AND AFRAID AND NEEDS TIME TO ADJUST AND CALM DOWN.**

She realized that he was simply not ready to talk to her about everything yet. _I'll give him some time.' _She thought as she turned and walked to her locker. _'I hope telling him was the right thing to do.' _

--------------

John flung open the door and walked out in to the school parking lot. He was glad that Cameron had been keeping her distance since that morning. _'I hope she doesn't insist on driving me home.' _He saw her watching him from her truck but just kept walking. From the corner of his eye he saw her get in and heard the engine start up. He sighed knowing that she would pull up and try to make him get in. John was surprised when the truck sped past him and even more so when it turned in the opposite direction he was headed. _'Huh, that's weird. Maybe she's just gonna loop around and follow me from a distance.' _Without another thought he began walking home.

----------

Sarah was startled when she heard the front door slam shut. She whipped around to see John putting his backpack down in the front hall. "Oh, you're home. I didn't hear the truck."

"That's because I walked. Cameron had things to do."

Sarah noticed that he sounded a little down. "Oh, guess that explains it then." She paused "How was your day?"

"It was fine." He said heading into the kitchen. "I have a lot of homework though."

"You alright?" _'Definitely bummed about something. Maybe it's just that he wanted to see her today.' _She picked up his backpack and followed him into the kitchen.

"I'm fine." He opened the fridge and started rummaging around.

"I think it's kinda cute you know."

John smacked his head as he emerged from the fridge."Ouch" He rubbed the top of his head. "What are you talking about?"

"That you're all bummed out because you didn't get to spend time with her today." When John didn't respond she continued "Just remember you're not the center of her universe."

A strange expression crossed John's face but it was gone too quickly for Sarah to read what it was. "Yeah, I know mom."He laughed a little but it seemed forced.

There was a pause "Oh, c'mon John cheer up. I'll make you pancakes."

John gave her a false look of horror. "Alright, alright, I'll cheer up." His expression shifted to a grin.

Sarah laughed "That's better."

---------------

Tuesday started much like Monday for Cameron. She waited for John outside the school building but did not try to speak to him this time. He gave her about as much notice as the pole she was standing next to.

When she entered their first class she found him in his usual seat as the student that was absent the day before had returned. However he would not look at her. _'I wish he would talk to me. I need to tell him how sorry I am.' _

-----

Cameron felt extremely nervous as she approached John during the morning break but she needed to talk to him. "John,"

He sighed and turned to her. "Yes, what is it?"

"Can we talk?" She indicated the door, hoping he would understand that it needed to be in private.

"Fine." He sighed again and followed her outside.

"John I… I'm sorry I lied to you."

"I wish I could believe that, but I understand you needed to get close to me."

"I didn't want—"

"Just stop." He took a deep breath "I understand you need to be near me to protect me. But don't pretend to be my friend. Don't pretend like you actually care."

"I understand" Cameron said in a flat emotionless voice

"Good." John turned and walked back into the building.

As Cameron watched John walk away her eyes brimmed with tears and she felt pain growing in her chest. Then her HUD bloomed with warnings.

**WARNING ABNORMAL POWER CELL READINGS. POWER FLOW ERRATIC.**

**WARNING DAMAGE TO ANTERIOR CHEST DETECTED.**

Cameron looked down at her chest and couldn't see any sign of damage.

**RUN DIAGNOSTIC…**

**NO PHYSICAL DAMAGE OR ABNORMALITEIS FOUND**

'_Good I am not going to explode and injure John.' _Cameron thought as the warnings disappeared. However the thought of John brought her back to their last conversation. The tears and the ache returned. _'You were wrong John' _she thought as she slid down the wall and curled into a ball, sobbing uncontrollably. Her thoughts turned to John, not this John but his future self.

----------

**(Serrano Point, 2027)**

Cameron walked towards John's quarters, on her way to deliver a report on the battle to capture a Sky Net weapons factory. She reached the door but hesitated knowing that this report was going to upset him. She knocked twice.

"Come in Cameron."

She entered the room letting the door close behind her. "John I have the report on the weapons factory for you." She paused then nervously added "I'm afraid things didn't go as planned."

"How bad is it?"

"Sky Net was ready for the attack. Our forces secured the factory but suffered 60% losses and… I'm very sorry but Colonel Prichard was killed." Her voice had softened and her face showed her sympathy.

John sank into the chair behind his desk. "What else does the report say?"

"Apparently a grey tipped Sky Net off about the attack. He was captured and was interrogated but revealed nothing useful and is now awaiting execution."

"Is there any good news?" John asked quietly

"The recalibration of the factory machinery is nearly complete and we captured several triple 8's and T-850's nearly intact."

"Thank you for the report. You should return to your duties."

Cameron knew he wanted to be alone for a while. She let herself out but as the door closed she heard John say "JP is dead. I--" The door closed cutting him off.

Cameron pulled up Colonel Pritchard's profile once again.

**John Prichard (deceased) 1983-2027**

**Served with John Connor 2013-2027**

**Associates: Close friend of John Connor.**

She then pulled up records from the last few months and discovered that several other officers had died recently.

-----

Cameron patrolled the corridors for several hours. Her thoughts had drifted to John. He had lost another one of his friends. Cameron was saddened by John's distress. She could only imagine what he was feeling since her only friend was John himself and thankfully he was safe.

A few minutes later Cameron was relieved precisely on time by a T- 888 named Bill. She made her way to John's room once again. At the door Cameron hesitated once again unsure if she should be doing this. She didn't know how close of a friend he considered her to be. She raised her hand and knocked.

"Come in." Came John's reply. He sounded exhausted. A small click came from the lock in the door and she entered. He was sitting on the edge of his bed. His face lightened a little when he saw it was her. "Cameron, what can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if we could talk."

John moved over slightly and patted the edge of the bed indicating that she should sit. "What about?"

"Are you alright?" Cameron spoke softly as she sat next to him letting her hand rest on his shoulder.

"You know you're the first to ask me that in a long time?" He paused and took a deep breath. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"I knew Colonel Prichard was your friend and I thought you might like some company."

"I will miss him." John said sadly.

"Could you tell me about him? All I have is a basic profile."

John sighed and leaned back resting against the wall and closed his eyes. "We met about two years after Judgment Day. We both had gathered a few small groups together. We came across each other down in the tunnels. Our groups joined together and after we visited one of the weapons caches my mother had hidden we started going on missions to collect food and medicine." He stopped for moment. "Back then the machines were much simpler and less durable. Anyway, he was a great fighter. Everyone said he was nearly as good as I was. Personally I thought he might have been better." He smiled slightly "I remember this one time we were ambushed and he took out a T-1 with his pistol then used its own guns to take out the rest."

John continued to share some of his favorite stories with Cameron and she noticed that his mood was slowly improving. John stopped talking for a little while then said "I must be getting old just listen to me rambling away." He laughed but then his face seemed to darken.

"Is something wrong?"

"NO… It's nothing… I'm just tired. I should get some sleep."

Cameron was not convinced that he was simply tired but rose and took a step away. "Good night, John."

"Good night." As she was about to leave he called her back "Cameron,"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for coming to see me."

----------

Cameron's memories were interrupted as a proximity warning appeared on her HUD. She opened her eyes blinking away her tears but saw no one. Just then she heard quickly retreating footsteps around the corner. _'Some one must have seen me crying and decided not to intrude. I hope it wasn't John he'd only be angry with me after what he said earlier.'_

---------------

John entered the cafeteria with his lunch and scanned the room for Cameron without thinking about it. She was once again nowhere to be seen. _'Maybe she is at one of the tables outside.' _He turned around and left through the door he'd just come through. When he got there he found that Cameron was not their either, in fact only a few people were outside. He sat down at an empty table to eat his lunch. As he ate he realized that he missed having her around. _'I guess I just got used to her always being there.' _

Having eaten only half his lunch, John made his way over to the trashcan to toss the rest of it. He turned to walk back inside when heard something. John stopped, trying to figure out what it was and where it was coming from. _'Who's crying?' _He thought as he realized what the sound was. John peaked around the edge of the building to see who it was. _'Cameron?!' _He couldn't believe what his eyes were telling him so he blinked but there she was huddled against the wall crying, not three feet from where they had talked that morning.

John froze as an array of conflicting impulses and emotions shot through him. Just then she lifted her head and John stepped back around the building.

To be continued


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 06: Genetics are a bitch**

Tuesday night as Cameron sat at her desk in her room she waited for the results of her search of various law enforcement databases and news sources. She checked every night for any threats to John. Cameron drifted back into her memories of the future she had come from.

**(Serrano Point 2027)**

About a week after the death of Colonel Prichard Cameron was on patrol when a young man stopped her. "Hey, you're the terminator the general calls Cameron right?"

"Yes." Cameron replied in her flat machine tone.

"I'm supposed to deliver new orders for you."

"What are they Private?"

He held out a small piece of paper to her. "You are being reassigned. You are now to serve as the general's personal body guard." He turned and left quickly

Cameron looked at the slip of paper, it indicated the same but included John's signature.

Cameron was pleased with her new assignment. John was one of only a few people that didn't treat her as an enemy. When it was quiet they would talk. John told her many things about his past especially his childhood. He told her about growing up in the central American jungle and about his mother. He had even told her about his mothers death from cancer.

Cameron's memory continued to a night a few weeks into her guard duties.

"John may I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why did you pick me to be your body guard?"

"Two reasons really. First of all you are the first to show an interest in more than my physical wellbeing, and…" He paused for a second "and I wanted a friend to have my back…and I thought ma-" Someone pounded on the door.

"General, you need to come to the infirmary, now." It was Bill's voice.

"On my way." John rushed to open the door and sliced his hand on the frame on the way out.

Cameron walked next to John as he followed the triple 8 down the corridor. "What happened Bill?" John asked slightly out of breath as they hung a left.

"Sky Net hit outpost 32. Major Gunderson is severely damaged but insisted that he see you."

Cameron waited outside the medical bay since no machines were allowed in due to the extreme distress it caused most of the injured soldiers. She stood just outside waiting for John to come back out. She quickly analyse the risk that John was under without her but it was minimal.

About half an hour later John reemerged looking tired. "John are you alright?"

"I'm fine. But Gunderson…" He sighed "probably won't make it. And we lost a lot of people today." John opened a door to a side passage leading toward his room leaving a smear of blood on it.

Cameron saw the blood "John, your hand."

"What about it. It's just a scratch. Don't worry."

"It has been bleeding for 37 minutes." She stated "That is unusual for such a minor injury."

John glanced at his hand. He blinked a few times looking surprised. "Oh, well that sucks." He gave her a sort of grin but it was clearly forced.

"If you're damaged I should know." Cameron lowered her voice to a near whisper as a soldier walked through the intersection behind them.

"Alright but not here. " He nodded in the direction of his quarters.

**(1999)**

BEEP

Cameron snapped back to the present. The computer searches she had launched had finished. She soon had finished reading the results. _'That could be a problem.' _She thought when she got to the traffic records of the FBI records database. Someone had tricked the server into sending a copy of the Connor case file to an unknown computer. Cameron typed quickly following the hacker's path back through several systems. It originated in Southern California but it just vanished before she could pin it down. A quick analysis of the skill required showed a 98% chance of it being another terminator.

**THREAT ANALYSIS:**

**NO IMMEDIATE DANGER: monitor closely**

The message flashed across her vision automatically. Cameron shut down the computer while trying to decide if she should tell John._'No, not yet anyway not until there is a threat.'_

Sarah moved closer to her son's bed. He was mumbling and had kicked his blankets off. As she bent over to pick up the blanket she made out a few words "Cameron I… sorry…I" _'I wonder what that's about.'_ She pulled the covers back over him.

John jerked awake. His mom was leaning over him "MOM! Stop doing that!" He gasped. The n he looked at the clock 4:32 AM. "What are you doing up?" He slumped back on his pillow.

"I heard you tossing and muttering. It sounded like you were having a rough night." She pushed the hair back off his forehead feeling that he was all clammy. "You alright?"

"Yeah mom I'm fine. What did I say anyway?"

"I couldn't make out most of it but you said something about Cameron and being sorry. You seemed pretty upset about whatever it was."

He blushed "I'm going to try to get some more sleep, okay."

Smiling slightly at his embarrassment Sarah yawned "yeah well keep it down will you." She left the room closing the door behind her.

John let out a sigh and rubbed his eyes. He had only been asleep for half an hour. He had been up all night trying to figure out how he felt about everything that happened the last three days. He couldn't get the image of Cameron crying out of his mind.

On Wednesday John sat in his customary seat beside Cameron in chemistry. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. _'She looks so miserable.' _She looked at him and he dropped gaze guiltily and turned more toward the front of the room. _'How am I ever going to start talking to her again? I just freaked out when she looked at me.' _He became lost in his thoughts trying to think of some way to start a conversation so he could try to patch things up.

A scantron dropped to his desk, he looked up startled from his thoughts to see the girl in front of him turning back to the front of the classroom. Groaning he muttered none too quietly, "Just my luck, a pop quiz today."

"Perhaps a pop quiz for you Mr. Reese, I announced the quiz to the rest of the class yesterday."

Frustrated and a little annoyed with himself, he reached for his backpack and his pencils… It wasn't there. He was so distracted this morning, he must have forgotten it. _god, I'm an idiot. _His eyes instinctively drifting toward Cameron and she was looking at him. Too late to turn away he blurted the first thing that came to mind… "Can I borrow a pencil?" She looked at him quizzically before reaching into her bag.

Standing up at the end of the period, he tripped. Looking down to see the offender, he realized it was his backpack. It had been there all along, on the other side of his desk. _ I guess that explains the look. At least were talking again…sort of. But, I do still have her pencil._

He looked around more than usual as he made his way through the cafeteria line. Seeing no sign of her, he headed toward the door. Outside, he finally spotted her, sitting alone on the last picnic bench. Making his way toward her awkwardly he mentally practiced what he was going to say.

"I stole your pencil" he held it out to her.

Puzzled, she tilted her head. "I gave it to you."

"No, I mean I forgot to give it back" he held it out further.

"Oh, thank you for explaining… Why didn't you use yours?" he lowered the pencil. _ 'My plan stopped at "I stole your pencil".'_

"So, how do you think you did on the pop quiz?...God that was a stupid question. Uh, I mean…the weather's really nice today. Good weather for sitting outside, ya know"

"yes, averages have been in the high 70's" The barest hint of a smile crossed her face as the subject turned to the weather. He smiled back in embarrassment. There was an uncomfortable silence then Cameron said. "The bell is going to ring in approximately 53 seconds."

Seeing his opportunity to extricate himself from the pit of awkwardness he had created, John got to his feet slinging his bag over one shoulder. "Alright, well… um, I'll see you later."

Cameron watched as John walked into the main building her head tilted slightly to the side. _'What was he doing? He said "don't pretend to be my friend. Don't pretend like you actually care." _She heard his words again in her mind. The bell rang interrupting her thoughts. Cameron rose and followed after John.

By the end of school Cameron still did not know what John had been trying to do earlier. During her afternoon classes she had decided to try speaking to John again.

"John," Cameron called to him as he disappeared out the door to the parking lot. He stopped and waited for her. "Would you like a ride home?"

"Huh… um, sure I…" He trailed off as he turned toward the truck.

About halfway home John was feeling very awkward. He didn't know what to talk about and the silence was getting to him. So he broke it "Cameron, could we maybe get together to do homework or something?" She turned to look at him for a few seconds. "Not that I want you to do it for me or anything. I just-" John babbled.

"Yes." Cameron cut him off with a slight upturn to the corners of her mouth. "Tomorrow," she suggested, pulling up in front of the house.

"Alright." He pulled in a breath "well, see you tomorrow then." John said hurriedly as he stepped out and shoved the door closed. _'Why is this so awkward?' _He turned back and tried a smile. He received a hesitant one in return. John walked up the front seps and stepped inside. He hoped tomorrow would be a little easier. Or at least less akward.


End file.
